HAUL- H&M Jewellery

I'm really loving H&M right now, being almost 22 weeks pregnant I have found that their basics range is a godsend and have for the past couple of months been living in their £3.99 long line vests (which never ride up) and my black Topshop Leigh maternity jeans anyway I headed there yesterday to find me some more basic pieces for my 'preggo uniform' and decided as I'm basically top of the worlds most boringly dressed people right now It'd be a good idea to jazz things up with a few pretty pieces that caught my eye in the jewellery section...

Firstly this gorgeous statement necklace, stone-wise this came in quite a few colours there was also a pale pink, blue, cream and Khaki, all came on a gold chain which isn't usually my thing but somehow I love it when it comes too statement necklaces, all really pretty but I'll definitely get more wear out of the Black.

A teeeeeny tiny bunch of keys on a silver chain, what's not too love? The cute factor got to me when it came to popping this dinky necklace in my basket plus it was only £2.99 so definitely not a bank breaker.

I'm not really much of a bracelet wearer but this stack of 4 Rose Gold bracelets caught my eye there's something about the chain mail/Rose Gold combo that I love and with them being elasticated they can either be worn stacked up or twisted over each other to add in a bit of interest (really living on the edge right now!!)

I fell in love as soon as I saw these pale pink stud earrings I think Fleur de force was wearing something similar in a recent video and I loved hers! They were a total bargain at £1.99 and I thought they would be really pretty to wear on Valentines day, not that I'm planning to go anywhere but ya know they'll be pretty around the house, Ikea, wherever the romance of day takes us ;)

So with these little beauties, my handy basics and a bunch of the most adorable newborn baby clothes bagged up H&M made me a really happy hormonal lady yesterday! I definitely recommend popping in for a nosey if you are shopping this weekend. 

<3

New Drugstore Make-up And First Impressions.

I had a serious case of the Monday blues this week so by lunch time I decided to do the one thing that is guaranteed to pick my lip up off the floor and headed off towards Boots and Superdrug for a much needed (but totally not needed!) beauty hit.

The only thing I was really in need of was a new eyebrow pencil so I picked up the Maybelline brow satin in Medium Brown which is an ash toned brown, thumbs up! It's double ended with one side being a retractable gel pencil (love these as I'm a lazy sharpener) and the other side a sponge tip applicator that contains a powder meant for filling in any gaps and perfecting the whole appearance of ones brows! 

After 3 consecutive mornings of using the brow satin I'm sold on the gel pencil end, the fine tip and well pigmented but natural colour tone make for foolproof, faff-free brow fills which I'm definitely all about at 6:30 am! It reminds me of a favourite from back in the day the MAC brow pencil in 'fling'  but at half the price. I'm yet to venture to the powder end of this product because it's an unfamiliar concept and I want to have a bit more time for a play with it but I'll post my thoughts when I've given it a whirl
( I have heard good things though).

As Maybelline is currently on buy one get one half price I thought I'd give their new 'Lash sensational' mascara a go, not sure why because I've never found a Maybelline mascara that I've loved. I definitely prefer Max factor, L'oreal and Bourjois when it comes to drugstore mascara but because of the offer and how there's a bit of a hype around this one I found myself popping it into my basket.

Annnd this is sooo not the one to convert me to a Maybelline mascara lover, I like the idea of the tapered, curved rubber wand but that's about all because even after a 'Shu uemura squeeze' as always with Maybelline mascara this does nothing for my lashes, I don't hate it, it's just 'meh' it's a 'meh-scara' ;)

Rimmel 25 hour nude is the medium coverage version of the much loved full coverage Rimmel lasting finish 25 hour, a recent release and one that I was keen to try out. Aside from what I think we all agree is an ever so silly 25 hour claim (more like 6), it does what it says on the tin, it's reasonably lightweight formula means a little goes a long way and it blends effortlessly into skin, it does have a semi-matte finish which picks up on the annoying areas of dryness I have at the moment, but that aside it's not exactly hydrating but it is comfortable to wear. So a no-go for very dry skin days but on the whole I'm really liking this I can see myself using it as an everyday and evening foundation as it's the perfect middle ground, flawless finish without being full on.

Rimmel also has an offer on in Superdrug, currently it's any two products for £10 I knew that I wanted to get the soft khol kajal eyeliner in 'sable brown' after seeing Tanya Burr use it in a Selena Gomez tutorial last week, she raved about this pencil and it looked stunning on her so it instantly went on my drugstore to get list. I've only had chance to use this once so far but I loved it, it's so pigmented and creamy it glides on like a dream, and the colour is perfect for achieving depth and definition without being harsh for daytime wear also I'm really looking forward to using this for my favourite kind of evening bronze/brown smoky eye.

I'm going to carry on trying these products out and if there are any that you would like a full review on let me know, although the 'meh-scara'  mayyy already be in my unloved make-up drawer ...

What drugstore Make-up are you loving lately?

xxx

Still loving... the 90's nude....

AKA the lip colour that drove me crazy as a teenager, why? because back in the 90's it was impossible to get your hands on an actual nude colour lipstick that wasn't some shade of Brown in the drugstore and as I was a tween from the countryside and had yet to discover the delights of the MAC lipstick stand (you should have seen how fast the shade 'Blankety' was in my kung fu grip when I did!) it felt like I was forever on the hunt for my perfect creamy pale nude.

Nowadays we are lucky enough to have an abundance of nude shades available from Tesco's to Tom Ford they are everywhere so finally I can make my peace with the 90's nude lip and admit that it actually is a look that I am loving at the moment! 

In particular this combination, essence lip liner- 'in the nude' (top swatch) for the price (less than £3)  I'm really impressed with the creamy formula and longevity of this lip liner, that aside and back to the 90's this is the perfect tawny brown liner for a 90's nude either worn all over the lips or paired up with my recent love (bottom swatch) Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 'Nude-ist' ahhhh if ever there was a time I was happy to be a bandwagon hopper then its every time I see my reflection and this perfect pinky toned brown nude beauty is on my lips! A quick hats off to the formula a liquid lipstick with a matte finish that packs some serious pigment and sticks around for hours, I wont go too much more into detail but if you haven't tried one of these then let me give you a gentle metaphorical nudge towards your local Boots ;) 

This is definitely my most worn lip combination of late and can see it continuing to be a favourite for the remaining winter months!

Are you loving 90's nudes? 

Topshop Glow 'polished' review

Firstly a quick nod to Topshop's simple packaging, glass pot, white lid, cute font, I love all of it.

 The formula is gorgeously creamy and blends with minimal effort, also bear in mind that a little goes a looong way so the 4g pot should last ages. I've been applying this in the usual places cheekbones, nose bridge, cupids bow, I've even thrown in a cheeky dab on my forehead and chin on a couple of occasions just for the heck of it, #wild times. 

When it comes to application an index finger works perfectly to blend it into the skin, I've also found a MAC 224 brush handy for extra control when blending on my non existent cheekbones.

Colour wise polished is a pale champagne with a pink irridesence, there's ultra fine multicoloured glitter running through it (I mean ultrafine don't be put off by it) This combination results in pure magic when the light hits! 

So to sum up, If I was to text you about this it would get an emoji thumbs up (high praise indeed)

Have you tried any of the Topshop highlighters?

Topshop glow £9 link.

My top 3 Bourjois products

 

When it comes to drugstore Make-up I love me some Bourjois, I find as a general rule when drugstore cosmetic shopping , if in doubt go the Bourjois route (if you're American you will get alot more out of that sentence than the Brits, or not ahem!) because they rarely put out a disappointing product, I actually can't think of one off the top of my head although if my arm was twisted I'd have to say I'm not a huge fan of the classic 'chocolate bronzer.'

Above are my all time favourites, the one's that shall be forever repurchased.

1.Healthy mix radiance reveal foundation 

I actually love this foundation so much that I often pick it over my higher end ones. For me this is a perfect all seasons base, it blends so easily (I like to apply this with my fingers), gives light/medium coverage which can be built into a decent medium with a satin finish, the bottle claims it lasts up to16hrs which is just silly but it does stick around well I get around 5-6 hours without powder before my beautiful nose redness starts peeking through.

2.Volume one second mascara

A mascara with balls! :o Seriously though I had high hopes when I picked this up and I wasn't disappointed.The rubber brush/tiny ball combo works wonders on the awkwardness that are my mid length crossed over lashes, it gives separation, length and volume that lasts the day without smudging/flaking (I have the non waterproof version)  and although it goes without saying that the 1 second claim is just daft it does the job quickly with minimal wand wiggle-age needed.

3.Bronzing primer

I honestly thought this had a better name until just now so I shall use the French...The Bourjois base lissante soleil (better) is currently my obsession, supposedly a dupe for the much hyped Soleil tan de Chanel or whatever it's called nowadays, I never gave into that hype because I didn't think I was missing out on a mousse formula bronzing primer, how wrong was I? Although the colour and consistency are quite scary at first glance, the BLS ;) blends into the skin like a dream leaving a smooth matte base for foundation which it then lends a hand to giving a suprisingly subtle bronzed healthy finish.So far I have only used this as a primer but apparently it works well as a contour so I'm going to have to give that a go!

NB: I'll be damned if there is a base product on this planet that smells this delicious!!

NB2: I over scooped in the above swatch picture...a little goes a long way with this.

What are your favourite's from Bourjois?